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Have you ever been stung by a box jellyfish?

Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2017 5:24 am
by Matt Flynn
Have you ever been stung by a box jellyfish?

Was it as bad as expected?

http://www.news.com.au/national/norther ... 3b3065cf3f

Re: Have you ever been stung by a box jellyfish?

Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2017 6:40 am
by theodosius
Yeah but they're not too bad, had them on my hands, legs and belly variously. Supposed to be pretty bad for kids and the elderly though

Re: Have you ever been stung by a box jellyfish?

Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2017 7:30 am
by Lats
Only on the back of the hand while pulling tentacles off lures. TIP: Once removed from lure, don't throw them into the wind

Re: Have you ever been stung by a box jellyfish?

Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2017 8:40 am
by dannett
Twice, both times around the ankles in a foot of water (think about infants sitting in shallow water). Hurts but not too bad, although I would describe my stings as minor. Vinegar and or hot water helps wash the remaining stingers off. When you pull the tentacles off lots of the stingers remain embedded in the skin and some won't have fired until you brush them later. The quicker you can remove the tentacles and hit them with vinegar the more effective it will be. Stings for about 10 days.

Re: Have you ever been stung by a box jellyfish?

Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2017 9:03 am
by Jer
When I was young, down at Cas beach in knee deep water. Felt something go past my legs and stupidly reached down to get rid of it.

Can't remember how much it hurt, pretty sure it stung a bit. Some random person on the beach took me up to the hospital. I think they used ice and took the tentacles off with tweezers then sent me home.

Re: Have you ever been stung by a box jellyfish?

Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2017 11:19 am
by nomad
Only on the palm of my hands when trying to get it away from the lure. Not bad at all but i know a couple of people who have had really bad stings on soft parts of belly and arm.

Re: Have you ever been stung by a box jellyfish?

Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2017 1:50 pm
by jeffish
Yep plenty when cast netting , but only one bad one I got at least 3 wraps around legs and angle.

Yes very painful ,, thats why I KILL every single one of the FARKERS I see .

Re: Have you ever been stung by a box jellyfish?

Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2017 5:42 pm
by Swoffa
Got a few stings to the body when I was a lot younger. Not surprising when the father sends you out on the deep end of the drag net off Flyingfish Point (Innisfail) during the wet season :bricks:
Also came to the conclusion that Metho definitely did not work (pre vinegar days).

Also had a fair few stings from the cast net, anchor ropes, around the ankles while wading and retrieving the boat. The Box Jellyfish definitely gives a nice sting.

But when you get hit by an Irukanji
OMFG
You know that you have been hit.

I was wading the flats at Sandy Bay on the western Ningaloo Reef a couple of years ago. The permit were out a bit deeper this day but I did manage to catch a nice Silver Drummer on fly...
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Most of the time I was waist deep and stalking the flats as quietly as possible. Nice group of permit directly in front about 15 metres. Placed the cast and nothing. Stripped the line back in and felt the line touch my leg. Looked down but my fly line was nowhere my body or legs. No problem...keep on fishing.

About 15 minutes later my knee started to get really itchy and I thought I might have rubbed it in the sand while taking the last photo. No problem....keep on fishing.

After another 15 minutes my leg is starting to get pretty sore so I waded back in to the shallows and see a slight redness just below the knee cap??? No problem....keep on fishing.

After another 15 minutes the pain was starting to get pretty bad. Here I am the only person on a remote beach over 100km from Exmouth...about 2km from the car park....no phone reception anywhere near here.....and I am finding it difficult to walk. Problem?????....Stop fishing and see what is happening. About that time the penny drops that I have been hit by a jellyfish. Time to head back home.
GOPR0048.jpg
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Within the next five minutes I was in excruciating pain. It felt as though a full Rugby team was holding me down, jumping on my legs and kicking me in the nuts. And it continued to get worse. I knew that I couldn't even make it back to the car I was in that much pain. The only thing that I could do was drag my body up the beach and rest up for a while. Suddenly this overwhelming feeling of impending doom came over me and I was certain that I was going to die right there on the beach....alone....and without anyone knowing what had happened.

I wrote this note in the sand just to let the person who found my body know what had happened, I was certain that I was going to die. Strange thoughts come to you in those times and I clearly thought the when the tide washes over me the note in the sand would also be washed away.....so I took a photo on the go-pro so there might be some way of letting others know what had happened.
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I sat in the shade of some rocks and waited....and waited....and waited. I realized that nobody was coming to help. Again, through totally clear thought, I came to the conclusion that I was not ready to die on this beach today. I dragged my body over rocks and lots of sand and eventually managed to get back to the car park. Thankfully the hire car was an auto and I didn't need to use my left leg to drive.

I managed to get all the way back to Exmouth.
Ambulance station closed
Couldn't find where the hospital was.
F@#% IT. I made it this far, I can make it back to my apartment.
Jack Daniels got me through the night.

My leg was immovable for the next 24 hours and the knee was unbearably itchy for the next month. But at least I lived.

After some investigation I found that my experience with the Irukanji was a normal reaction... Those inflicted by the deadly jellyfish suffer Irukanji Syndrome which is the feeling of overwhelming impending death. I am fortunate that my sting was relatively minor but it sure put a scare in me. Box Jellyfish definitely hurt....but Irukanji OMFG

This is a true story and there has been no exaggeration in its telling.

Cheers

Re: Have you ever been stung by a box jellyfish?

Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2017 6:16 pm
by NinjaFish
Yep. Feet, ankles, legs and all the soft fleshy bits from belly to arm pits swimming out to boats at anchor. Worst was pulling anchor on a Signature. Must have missed the tentacles by hand but spread legged with short shorts got the tender, right up high, inner leg. Must a have been a colder than normal day :) and I'm glad as I don't think I would still have them.
The best action I found was to rinse off while still in the sea without rubbing the bits off and only just read somewhere that a sting from a boxy only 'ejaculates' or produces about 9% of what's possible until you disturb it, dead or alive, and as soon as you agravate it, it goes all Wife like on your arse and gives you the rest. Fresh water - NO, Hot Sea water in the shallows - Yes. Then as much vinegar and beer as you can find after that.

Re: Have you ever been stung by a box jellyfish?

Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2017 6:24 pm
by NinjaFish
And DO NOT PEE ON IT.

Re: Have you ever been stung by a box jellyfish?

Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2017 8:51 pm
by dannett
Irukanji sound way worse!

Interesting observation about the sea water Nijafish, I washed my legs with the deck wash and it does provide a lot of relief whilst the water is flowing over them.

Re: Have you ever been stung by a box jellyfish?

Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2017 5:51 am
by theodosius
Geez swoffa, what an intense experience!!!

Re: Have you ever been stung by a box jellyfish?

Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2017 10:05 am
by nomad
Swoffa, you might have been one of the lucky ones
I was on the Low Isles about 25 years ago and the bloke doing the guided tour was actually there to research the Irukanji
I had never heard of it.
He said it was way worse than the box jelly .
He said it can kill in minutes and except for the sting site, it looks like the person has had a heart attack and died.
That always stuck in the back of my mind.
Recent ‘heart attacks’ of divers have me wondering if they weren’t Irukanji stings

Re: Have you ever been stung by a box jellyfish?

Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2017 5:08 pm
by goldfish
I've been stung heaps of times on the legs in the shallows and across the back by ones in the cast net but they were generally only up to 100mm diameter with trailing tentacles about 1-2m behind them. Burns for a bit but Wears off after 1/2 hr or so. Some people react to them way worse than this.

Sometimes you'll see thousands of them at gunn pt. Right in the shore break in water about knee deep.....plenty there around the start of December from tiny 25mm ones up to much bigger versions. I also reckon that these are a bit more tame than the bigger ones like those encountered out on the reef pulling them up on anchor ropes or off your line. Definitely worth the money of a bottle of vinegar for them especially if you are out with the kids.

Best one I got was pulling a bit off my line then rubbed my eyelid with a bit still on my finger.

I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND THIS MOVE ... BUT JUST LUCKY I DIDN'T HAVE TO PEE I GUESS.

when having a bad day just remember that it could always be worse

Re: Have you ever been stung by a box jellyfish?

Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2017 5:45 pm
by BJOBrien
A month ago I was getting tentacles off my lure at Wildman then took a p..s off the back of the boat! Terrible idea. Then I was tellin my mates the next day when I was in another boat, did the same thing 20 mins later. Not sure they were box jellys, but still no good.